Insomnia
by amphii
Summary: Ike tries to comfort Robin during a particularly bad bout of insomnia. (Not an OT3, please read author's notes for details)


**AN:** Alright, I'd like to note a couple of things before we get started.

One, I know that I wrote Ike out of character, please don't point it out.

Two, my headcanon for Robin is that they are bigender, use they/them pronouns, and present themselves according to how they feel. They either dress in female Robin's pink color variant or male Robin's black-haired one. In this case, they present as the male variant.

Now that that's cleared up, please enjoy the fanfic!

* * *

Ike was taken off guard when he opened his eyes and was greeted with bright rays of sunlight shining through the window, causing him to squint and place a hand over his face. _What the heck?_ he questioned inwardly. Usually Robin closed the curtains before the two of them settled down for the night, so to be woken up by the sun was somewhat odd for him.

Ike felt around the bed with his hand and discovered that he was alone. He let out a groan before getting up, then blindly headed over to the window and closed the curtains. With the room dark again, he slowly opened his eyes, then turned to the clock to see that it was a little past seven in the morning. _Dang, that's early even for me..._ he thought, letting out a big yawn. Ever since moving in with his spouse, he'd become accustomed to sleeping in until about ten or so.

Lazily he turned away and walked out of the room. On his way down the stairs, he picked up the scents of many different dishes, the mixture of smells making it impossible to identify any of them individually. He could also hear what sounded like metal utensils clanking, along with the sound of drawers being slammed shut, so he headed straight for the kitchen to investigate.

When he arrived there, he spotted Robin pouring ingredients into a pot and using a ladle to stir its contents.

"Robin?" Ike said, rubbing his eyes to clear his blurring vision.

Robin jumped, whipping around to look at the source of the sound. At first their eyes were wide with alarm, but they softened when they saw it was only their husband.

"Er, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. But what're you doing cooking this early? You _do_ realize it's seven in the morning, right?" Ike asked with an eyebrow raised.

Suddenly a disappointed look replaced Robin's former expression. They turned away from Ike to continue stirring the food. "Yeah, I know what time it is," they replied with a yawn.

"How much sleep did you get last night, anyway?" he pressed, crossing his arms.

Robin was silent for a bit as they continued to focus on cooking. "I... didn't get any sleep, actually."

Ike's eyes widened. He looked over to the kitchen table and saw many dishes laid out, completely untouched and cold. "Don't tell me you've been cooking all night."

Their only response was to slowly nod their head without looking away from the stove.

He stared at Robin for a few moments before walking up to them and wrapping an arm around their shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Robin was hesitant to respond, looking uncertain. "Nothing," they muttered, averting their eyes.

Ike frowned. "C'mon, you only cook all night when something's wrong," he pointed out. "Besides, you'll probably feel better if you talk about it!"

They paused as they thought it over, then closed their eyes in defeat. "You're right."

"So what is it?"

Robin opened their eyes to reveal newly formed tears, then sighed. "Last night, I started thinking about what happened with Bowser again and my brain hasn't been able to settle down since," they admitted weakly.

Ike was shocked to hear this. Talking about the event was rare for Robin, as the subject was extremely sensitive to them. In fact, Ike had only heard them mention it once before, but somewhat vaguely. All he knew was that Robin once had an encounter with Bowser, which went sour when the beast obtained the Smash Ball and transformed into Giga Bowser. They said that Bowser was on a rampage, and when he headed straight for Marth – Robin's former fiancé – they pushed the man out of the way and took the blunt of the vicious attack, which landed them in the hospital for a while.

Robin fought back the tears that threatened to stream down their face, trying their best to stay strong. "I-I've tried sleeping on the couch, but whenever I close my eyes, I see it happening all over again and before I know it, I'm fighting off a panic attack..." they choked out, wiping their eyes on their sleeve. "So, staying up seemed like the easiest option."

All Ike could do was stand there and gaze at Robin sympathetically. He'd already figured that the event had been traumatizing, but with how little they mentioned it, he didn't think it was still eating them up inside to this day. As he thought about Robin's words, an idea popped into his head. "Well hey, don't worry about sleep. How about you and I just watch some TV for a while and relax?" he proposed.

Their expression brightened up a bit, meeting Ike's gaze with a tired smile. "You know, that actually doesn't sound half bad," they said before turning back to the stove. "But wait, what about the stew?"

Without a word, he turned off the burner and put a lid over the pot. "You can get back to that later. C'mon." Ike grabbed Robin's hand and walked them out of the kitchen, guiding them into the living room.

There they both sat down on the couch, Ike reaching to his side to grab a blanket and draping it over himself and his spouse. As they settled down together, Robin rested their head against the crook of Ike's neck, while Ike wrapped his arm around their shoulders once again. Then Ike grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

"What do you wanna watch?" Ike asked.

Robin yawned into their hand. "Doesn't matter to me... as long as it's not the news."

"Alright then," he replied with a chuckle. Ike began channel surfing until he landed on the animal channel, to which he put down the remote and settled in to cuddle with Robin more closely.

They both stared at the television in silence, watching an educational show about different dog breeds. A particular dog caught Ike's eye, which caused a smile to form on his face.

"Hey Robin, look at that one," he said, pointing to one of the dogs on the screen. "It's pretty fluffy, isn't it?"

When Robin noticed the dog he was referring to, they smiled as well. "Yeah, I bet it'd be super soft to pet, too," they commented before another dog caught their eye. "Oh, and look at that one!" They pointed to another part of the screen. "It's got such a cute spotted nose."

"Damn, you're right! That's freakin' adorable!"

Suddenly Duck Hunt walked out from the side of the couch and approached the television, his tail raised with caution.

Robin blinked at Duck Hunt in surprise. "When did Duck Hunt get here?"

"No idea," Ike responded as he watched the dog stop in front of the TV to sniff it. Then Duck Hunt sat down and started yelping at the dogs that appeared on screen, causing Ike and Robin to laugh. He continued to whimper and bark, even getting into a playful stance while staring intensely at the television.

"I think that's enough of that," Ike said in amusement. He pressed a button on the remote, which changed the channel to a history show. The lack of animals on screen prompted Duck Hunt to retreat back to the couch, this time lying down and curling up next to Ike's feet.

They silently watched the TV for a while, until Ike felt Robin shaking beside him. It broke his heart when he saw just how anxious they looked, desperately trying to keep their eyes open despite how heavy their eyelids were.

He leaned in and kissed the top of Robin's head, rubbing their arm in an attempt to comfort them. "Everything's going to be okay, Robin. You're safe now," he reminded them softly.

Robin sighed deeply, trying their best to shake the anxiety. "I know, I know..." they murmured.

Ike continued to rub their arm as they watched the television, the two of them becoming quiet once again. Within minutes, the history show came to a close, and another similar one began. At this point, Ike decided to change the channel, but couldn't figure out what he wanted to watch instead.

"Hey Robin, have any requests?" he asked before realizing their eyes were closed. He stared at them for a few moments, listening closely to confirm his suspicions. And sure enough, Robin began lightly snoring, much to Ike's relief.

A smile formed on his face as he clicked the power button on the remote to turn off the TV. He carefully backed away from his seat before picking Robin up and walking out of the room. Ike carried them up the stairs and headed for the last room in the hall, arriving back in their bedroom. He then set Robin down in bed and pulled the blanket up to their chest.

"Goodnight, Robin. You deserve a good rest," Ike whispered before planting a kiss on their forehead. Then he left the room as quietly as he could, allowing Robin to finally sleep peacefully.


End file.
